threetocruise

Moderno was one of our choices on our cruise in July and we liked it.  It was part of our plan, so we didn't pay the $46.00, but the food and the service were excellent. My husband likes his meat well done and they had no issues coming back with a whole slew of different meats cooked as he liked it.  I really enjoyed the salad bar.  The desserts were delicious.  We probably would pay if we didn't get it with our 3 meal plan.  

We were on the Escape mid-July and there were quite a few kids in the Haven, of all ages, but you wouldn't have known it.  When they were there they were very well behaved and closer to late afternoon, the pool area generally emptied (naptime 🙂?) so it was even more quiet. No crying, screaming, whining from the kids - or the adults, lol.  

Don't let that keep you from booking the Haven.  Bidding on it was the best choice we could have ever made because it was beyond our expectations and will be the way we cruise with NCL going forward.  Enjoy!

I had that avocado toast every morning on the Escape, it was delicious!

The Haven includes its own restaurant (inside and outside eating on the Escape), pool areas, drinks with the package, food available poolside from a poolside menu. There is a small lounge with a bar. Poolside there are snacks, iced tea and flavored water (usually with fruit). I'm not sure about the bottled waters.  

I can't compare with any other line, as this was our first time on NCL and in the Haven, but I will say that we loved the Haven and all that came with it. 

Our son was sharing our cabin with us and we purchased the 3 day plan (he's an adult, but I know some 13 yo that eat like adults 🙂).  For us, it was worth it. I think it cost $89; we ate in La Cuccina, Cagneys, and Moderno.

Our first cruise with NCL was in July on the Escape and we were offered to bid for a Haven upgrade.  We bid on the Courtyard Penthouse and the Aft and Forward Suites.  We had a mini suite, which we would have been happy with if we did not win, but friends loved the Haven so much we decided to bid.  We bid what we were comfortable with, which was 800 pp for the courtyard and the minimum for the other two (we knew we didn't have a shot with those bids but did it anyway).  Our Courtyard bid was accepted about 10 days out. 

I think it is up to you on what you feel comfortable bidding.  We loved the Haven, it is fantastic so I hope if you decide to bid you get it because I think you will love it (it was worth every penny as far as we are concerned).  Good Luck!

These pictures are pretty representative of what we received on our cruise on the Escape a few weeks ago.  It was great!

I happened to mention to Jefferson, our butler, that my son loved the chocolate chip cookies.  Every day, we received a tray of 7 or 8 cookies.  And every day, my son and husband ate them, lol.  I loved the little  hor d'oeurves and of course the chocolate covered strawberries (because you have to have something to eat with your champagne I was told, lol). 

I'll put in my two cents 🙂

The wings at O'Shehan's are delicious. 

The salad bar at Moderno is great, I really enjoyed that because I'm not much of a red meat eater.  But my husband does like his well done and the waiter did ask at the beginning of the meal how everyone liked their meat. They took all of the red cuts and did them to how my husband liked them - that was an enjoyable touch for him.  The cinnamon pineapple, OMG.  So good.  That would be great over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Damn wish I thought of that then.  😏

The nachos and the fish tacos at Margaritaville were delish as well. 

We ate one night in at the buffet after one of our excursions. I found the food to be very good, especially the Chicken Tikka Masala with a warm Naan bread...yum.  There were plenty of choices, if you couldn't find something that you might enjoy with all of the selections they had then I don't know what to say. 

We really enjoyed all of the food we had on the ship.  Most breakfasts and dinners were at the Haven restaurant and they were excellent. We didn't mind that the menu didn't change each day. None of us had problems finding something delicious to eat. 

On our recent Escape to Bermuda, 7/15,  we ate at Cagney's, Moderno and La Cucina.  All of our meals were delicious.  I liked Moderno's salad bar because of all the choices it had (sushi, greens, cheeses, meats, soup).  The variety of choices at each restaurant fit our groups different food likes.  None of us had any problem finding something we liked. All the desserts were delicious as well.  Enjoy your cruise!

Our first NCL cruise a few weeks ago was in an upgraded Haven Courtyard Penthouse. I've already told my husband that the next cruise on NCL will be in the Haven, I'm just booking that right from the get go.  That is something I'm not leaving up to chance, lol. 

We have recently cruised in the Haven and tipped what we were comfortable with.  Our butler, Jefferson and our room stewardess Jocelyn were awesome and we feel our tips reflected that, both going out of their way to thank us for our generosity.  We used the concierge for going to the tender and to the show and we asked a few questions - we feel we tipped them accordingly as well. We had a wonderful, attentive bartender in the lounge that we tipped a few times during the trip (gotta keep your bartender happy, lol).   My feeling is that they are grateful for whatever tips they receive and for us, they really made our trip special so we were happy to show our gratitude. 

Your pictures are amazing!  I was excited before I saw them, no I'm super excited and can't wait to sail on Sunday.  Thanks for sharing. 

Holy moly!  $41.00 for a fish sandwich?  😮  I hope it was the best fish sandwich you have ever eaten, lol. 

On 7/1/2019 at 5:01 PM, Ozzieru1e said:

 

Wow...that was a better deal than my $1000/pp H5 accepted bid😳 😣 

This will be my first Haven experience & I plan to surprise my daughter for her birthday.  I was afraid if I bid less there was no guarantee my bid would be accepted.  I had a midship mini suite last year (2018) Mother’s Day on the Escape which was nice with the large bathroom shower.  I wanted a different experience this year since we are taking the same ship & I can’t wait to see my daughter reaction!!!

Enjoy your cruise...I know we will😎

800 pp so $1600.  It will be our first Haven experience as well.  Mine was supposed to be a surprise for my husband but I obviously can't keep my yap shut, lol. I hope you have a wonderful cruise and that your daughter has an awesome birthday!

On 7/1/2019 at 4:52 PM, Chesneygirl said:

Congrats! Which balcony category were you upgraded from? 

It I believe it was MA - Mid ship mini suite with balcony

Thank you for your answers everyone, exactly what I needed to know!  Happy cruising. 😊

OK. Thanks.  Then I would assume that means that there is some kind of diet soda other than Pepsi? (I updated my original post). 

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but does anyone know if NCL (Escape in particular) has either Diet Sierra Mist or Diet Ginger Ale?  

1 hour ago, Ozzieru1e said:

 

Congratulations 🎊🎉🍾 

Can you share your accepted bid amount?

$800 (x 2).  🙂  We bid that on the Courtyard, Aft and Forward Penthouses as well.  Knew those were probably not going to happen but we are thrilled with the Courtyard. 

Just heard this morning that my bid for a Courtyard Penthouse was accepted - we sail on the 14th on the Escape. We are so excited. 

There are always going to be people who just love to complain, so you need to take what you read here with a grain of salt.  We have never had anything so horrible happen to us on any of our cruises that would make us not want to go.  In fact, we have always had a great time, and we have been on various lines!  If you want to have a good time, you will. If you want to look for things to nitpick about, you will definitely find them. I'm too busy being with my family and having a blast to sweat the small stuff.  Go on your cruise, check it off your bucket list, and have a great time.  

Sounds like a bummer. I'm looking forward to my Escape cruise in July, but then again, I'm part of the Carnival crowd so...😆

Following!  We're on the Escape in 41 days - can't wait.  Will love to read your reviews. 🙂

We are going on the Escape in July.  The upgrade fairy visited and I decided to bid on a Courtyard Penthouse.  We are traveling with friends and they decided to try for the same as well.  We will be happy with our Mini Suite, but I thought it would be nice to get the Haven upgrade because my DH loves perks!  If we win, it will be a surprise for him, I won't tell him until we are headed to the Haven lounge before boarding.  I bid what I was comfortable paying if we won.

We had the Captain's Suite on the Glory 3 years ago and it was awesome!  You will get priority boarding and if I remember correctly the suite was ready when we were able to board.  We had a beautiful basket of fruit, cheese, crackers, and a bottle of champagne waiting for us.  Every day we got a little something-chocolate covered strawberries, little desserts, etc.  If you love a balcony as much as we do, wait until you see this one!  OMG it's fantastic.  In the Main Dining room we had the same booth held for us every night.  It was a wonderful experience - I'm so excited for you. I hope you love it as much as we did.